


To Make You Happy

by TrashcanGod



Category: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Genre: (mostly in later chapters), Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Angst, Depression, Domestic, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Runaway, depression in later chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-31
Updated: 2015-08-20
Packaged: 2018-03-09 20:57:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3264164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrashcanGod/pseuds/TrashcanGod
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shinji Ikari was beyond fed up with his father. That was why, at age eighteen, he ran off to New York in an attempt to start over and be happy. When a young man named Kaworu saw this melancholic boy, he decided to help out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lonely, Lost, and Sick of McDonald's

**Author's Note:**

> I ended up writing this because I figure that they'll never be happy in canon and this is the only way I can have these dorks smiling.

Shinji Ikari was fed up with his father by the time he was old enough to process information. After his mother's death when he was barely two years old, his dad went right off the edge, completely immersing himself in his work as a biomedical engineer in an attempt to find a way to reanimate her body.

He was fucking nuts.

That was why, when Shinji finally turned eighteen, he ran away from home. He saved up money over the years, from birthdays and holidays where his father would throw him a card with cash and call it a day, until he finally had enough to buy a train ticket, pack a bag, and get the hell out of Dodge. He didn't know where he would go, or where he would stay, but he was certain that anywhere would be better than where he had been. He boarded a train, and said goodbye to his past life, along with a mental “fuck you” to his dad.

 

The ride itself was decent. In the end, he bought a ticket to New York City. They said on TV that anyone could make it in New York, right? Of course, that was a line from some rich business man character, but it was a start. Since Shinji was from Atlanta, it was a very long and very scenic ride, but that was fine with him, especially since the car he was in was mostly empty.

An elderly gentleman sat a few rows up, falling asleep and occasionally snorting himself awake. Shinji only spoke to the man once before the train left the station, when the guy offered him a Reese’s Cup. (He politely declined.) It was odd to see such a man for him, since the only old man he knew was his father's coworker, who was constantly somewhat indifferent to the situation around him and seemed to have some sort of weird infatuation with Shinji's mother. The guy always smelled like stale air fresheners, and would often ask Shinji to play chess with him without bothering to explain the rules to him.

The only other person on the train was a woman who seemed to be in her late 20's, who sat in the very back of the car and silently knitted a pastel pink scarf during the ride. Shinji had only seen a picture of his mom once, because the aforementioned coworker had a picture of her for some reason, but the female passenger reminded him of her.

He didn't speak to either of them during the ride. He simply curled up in his seat in the middle row of the car, listened to his music, and watched the scenery.

 

When he got to the grand city of New York, he discovered that he was only partially right about how much better it would be than home; it was better since his father wasn't there, but at least back home, he didn't have to face the possibility of sleeping on a park bench in the rain. He had been looking for a place to stay all day after the unboarding the train, armed only with the old Walkman his dad gave him back when he was still somewhat decent.

Within one day of wandering aimlessly and trying to find a homeless shelter that would accept a runaway and wasn't rat-infested, Shinji decided on a safe system. Wander around during the day, eating with the money he had left after buying his ticket, go to a public library around four-thirty or five, find a secluded spot in the unpopular newspaper section to sleep until seven, then go to Central Park, where he would lightly sleep for the night. (Lightly because he didn't want to get mugged in his sleep.) Luckily, he'd packed a blanket in his backpack, so at least he wouldn't get too cold.

He continued this system for three days. Wake up, head to a McDonald's to wash his face and have a cheap breakfast, spend his day doing whatever, eat fast food again, nap at the library, go to the park. It wasn't the greatest daily schedule, but it would do. Really, his only complaint was the lack of a shower. It had only been a few days, so it wasn't long enough to smell, but he'd have to figure something out soon.

He sighed through his nose as he sat in an uncomfortable chair at a McDonald's. Okay, so maybe he lied about the shower being his only complaint. Honestly, he was lonely. Really lonely. At least back home he had Kensuke and Toji, a couple of classmates he befriended. He had never met up with them outside of school, but he still considered them to be good friends of his. In New York, he had no one. He nibbled at a french fry and stared off aimlessly.

“I wonder if they're worried,” he mumbled to himself. He then shook his head and mentally reprimanded himself, tossing the rest of the fry into his mouth. No, he had come to New York to leave that life behind, and if getting away from his father meant he had to lose other people too, then so be it! He wasn't going to let those second thoughts drag him back.

He took a deep breath and whispered a small affirmation to himself. “You are Shinji Ikari, and you are your own person now.”

Shinji rewound his Walkman, as he had reached the end of his tape, and finished off his small meal. He was going to have to find something else to eat; burgers and fries would get old pretty soon. Headphones in his ears, tranquil music filling his head, he dumped his tray and left.

The young man couldn't help but feel like someone had been watching him.

 

Shinji Ikari went along with his usual routine, and decided to wander around for the day. He simply turned up the volume on his Walkman and let his feet guide him. As he wandered the busy streets, Shinji still felt as if someone was looking at him. Then again, why wouldn't people stare at a boy with a Walkman, hand-me-down hoodie, and a stuffed backpack with the corner of a blanket sticking out, wandering around in the middle of New York City? He decided to ignore it.

Soon enough, he found himself in front of an impressive cathedral. It looked familiar... Ah, right, he'd seen it online when he was looking for things to do in New York. (He didn't come unprepared.) The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine, he thought it was called... It was a long name, so who knows. Was it Saint John? Either way, the building had some incredible architecture. It stood tall and proud, it and its surroundings seeming slightly out of place in the otherwise bustling and metallic city.

Cathedrals were open at all hours, right? Shinji was sure they were, so he hiked up the stairs and entered through the heavy doors. Not for worship, but because his feet were tired and he would appreciate the climate control of a building.

He suddenly felt as if all air had left his lungs. If the outside was impressive, then the inside was beyond outstanding. The ceiling was so high, it seemed just as out of reach as the moon and stars, and the light pouring through the stained glass at the end of the long room cast an ethereal glow on the pews and detailed tile floor.

Shinji gently walked toward a seat that wasn't too close to the door, but close enough so he could quickly leave if he wanted to. There were a few other people scattered about, heads down in prayer. He wasn't particularly religious, so he simply stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.

The feeling that someone was watching him seemed to grow stronger. Maybe there was a god after all, and he or she or they or it was staring Shinji down for not praying like the others. That theory, however, was proven wrong when someone sat behind him. Not being one for confrontation, and realizing that it was nearly five, Shinji quickly stood and left the cathedral to head for the library.

 

He didn't take his evening naps at the famed New York Public Library; he had to stay somewhere that didn't have security and tourists. Instead, he opted for a smaller public library in Manhattan. He entered through the automatic doors and glanced at the librarian, who regarded him with a small smile and went back to tapping on her keyboard. She probably just thought he was a student who had been working on an assignment for the past few days.

Shinji lightly browsed several shelves, so he didn't look like he was just making a beeline for the newspaper section, then eventually found himself in the familiar corner between two file cabinets. It was basically unnoticeable, and the perfect spot for a homeless kid to sleep for a few hours.

Normally in the small room, he would only be accompanied by the scent of old print. Today, however, after closing the door behind him, it opened again.

Oh god, what if the librarian figured it out? What if security was sent over? Oh he was fucked, so utterly fucked. He spun around to see who the intruder was, and instead of a guard with a taser, he saw a young man.

The new guy looked to be about a year older than Shinji, and wore a white collared shirt with black pants. He had a pale face framed by light gray hair, and shockingly red eyes paired with a confident yet soft smile. He was perched on top of a shorter file cabinet, one leg dangling down, an arm draped across the knee of the other. How had he gotten up there? Actually, why was he there in the first place?

The two boys stared at each other for what seemed like both an eternity and half a second, until the boy with red eyes spoke.

“Shinji Ikari,” he said with a voice that was just as confident and kind as his smile.

Shinji took a cautious step back. “How do you know my name?”

The boy simply laughed and hopped off the file cabinet. “You said it to yourself at McDonald's earlier.”

Shinji's eyes widened. It all made sense now! The feeling of being watched, as if someone was following him. He must have been the one in the Cathedral, too... The guy looked nice enough, but Shinji still felt uneasy. Then again, he almost always felt uneasy.

“Kaworu Nagisa,” he introduced, holding out a hand. After a moment's hesitation, Shinji shakily reached out and shook it. It was soft and warm, and he probably wouldn't have wanted to let go if this weren't a stranger who had been stalking him all day.

He cut right to the chase. “Why have you been following me?”

Kaworu shrugged, keeping that smile on his face. “You looked lonely, and lost, and I wanted to help.”

Shinji wasn't sure what to say back.

“So, are you?” Kaworu continued. “Lonely and lost, I mean. You don't seem to have a place to stay, judging by the blanket you have poking out of your backpack, and the fact that you've been at that McDonald's in those same clothes for three days now.”

Shinji just shrugged and looked down.

“You can stay with me, you know.”

The runaway looked up in shock and, though he wouldn't admit it to himself, hope.

“I have my own apartment, and the couch folds out into a pretty decent bed.” Kaworu tilted his head slightly. “What do you say? It's gotta be better than sleeping in a library.”

Shinji regarded the boy with an apprehensive and nervous stare. “Why are you being so nice to me?”

Kaworu simply continued smiling. “I said I wanted to help, didn't I? Now come on.” With that, he took Shinji's hand in his own warm one once again and led him out.

 

“I'm glad you left that Cathedral in such a hurry, by the way. I didn't want to be there for too long,” he said as they exited the library, hands still pressed together.

“Why?”

“Because I'm gay as hell and I don't want to get lynched.”

Shinji laughed for the first time in ages.


	2. Home is Where the Kind of Odd Landlord Is

Shinji and his new (slightly odd) companion walked in silence as the sun set on the bustling city. He was a bit anxious, after the initial relief of getting a place to stay faded. He had literally just accepted an invitation into the home of a complete stranger. Wasn't that supposed to be a bad idea? Sure, the guy was about his age, and he seemed nice enough, but what if he was secretly a serial killer? Or a cannibal? Or a cannibal serial killer?

_Agh, this is ridiculous._ Shinji shook all thoughts of Hannibal Lecter out of his head before nervously speaking up. “So, um, where do you live anyway...?”

“A shitty little apartment complex here in Manhattan. Just a couple of blocks away, now.”

“Oh...”

Back to silence.

Shinji was about to make some awkward comment about the weather and how Autumn in New York was different from Autumn back home, when Kaworu started talking instead. (Thank God.) “So, Shinji, what are you doing homeless in the middle of New York? You're a bit young for that, don't you think?”

Okay, so, maybe Kaworu talking wasn't so great. If he was going to dive straight into the heavy stuff, it probably would have been better for him to just not say anything at all.

Apparently Shinji's displeasure toward the question was noticed (seriously, was this guy psychic?), because Kaworu quickly added, “You don't have to share if you don't want to. You'll tell me about it when you're ready.”

That last bit seemed a bit too certain, and kind of supported the theory of the young man being psychic, but Shinji was fine with it. He nodded, then said, “Maybe another time,” to avoid feeling like he had left his new companion hanging. Kaworu gave him a warm smile, the likes of which Shinji would probably get more of in the next few days than he had received in the last sixteen years.

Back to silence. Not uncomfortable, just quiet.

Shinji decided to take the opportunity to observe his surroundings. The city seemed somewhat different when you weren't busy thinking about where you could sleep that night. He was able to notice things that he had previously just glanced over without registering: people bustling about, one of them being a man with a briefcase, another one being a woman with a hijab on her head and a messenger bag on her shoulder; leaves that had probably drifted from Central Park, which was only a few blocks over; snippets of “Hey”s and “See you later”s spoken into cell phones and to acquaintances parting ways.

Maybe it was because his mind was no longer so preoccupied. Maybe it was because some sort of Angel had descended into Shinji's life and saved his skin. Whatever the reason, the world didn't seem quite so dull as it had before.

_Is this what it's like to be cared for?_

 

He nearly bumped into Kaworu's back when he suddenly stopped in front of a building. It was a bit shabby, with chipped bricks and old windows and a tarnished knob on the front door, but it looked to be in decent condition.

“This is the place,” Kaworu said as he lead Shinji in.

He pulled a metal ring with two keys attached out of his pocket and used one to unlock the door. After swinging it open, he entered the tiny front hall (the black and white tiled floor of which could use a bit of sweeping) and opened one of the mailboxes positioned on the right wall to pull out an envelope.

“Misato!” he called out as he headed toward a door on the opposite wall from the mailboxes. “You have mail and I have a visitor!” Kaworu stood in front of the door and turned to Shinji. “Misato is my landlord. She's really more like a strange aunt, though, so don't be too intimidated,” he explained in a slightly hushed tone.

The door opened to reveal a woman with dark purple hair and a loosely fitted tank top. “Thanks, as usual!” she sang with a grin as she took the envelope out of Kaworu's hand. “So, who're you?” Misato asked, turning her attention to Shinji. “It's pretty rare for Kaworu to bring friends over. You his partner in an assignment or something?”

Shinji straightened his back and stuttered out an introduction. “I-I'm Shinji Ikari, nice to meet you...!”

“Hey, hey no need to be so formal!” she assured with a smile and a careless wave of the hand. “Misato Kasturagi. No need to add a 'miss' to it or anything like that; Misato is fine.” She then turned her attention to Kaworu. “So? What's going on with you two?”

“Well, Shinji is in a somewhat special situation... Is it alright if we come in?”

“Sure, mi casa es su casa and all that.” With that, she retreated back into her apartment.

Kaworu smiled at Shinji, as if to say, “I told you not to worry about her,” then followed the landlord in with Shinji trailing behind.

The apartment was a bit of a mess, with beer cans (some empty, some full) and clothing strewn about the connected living room and kitchen space. A door on the far wall was left half open to show an unmade bed, and another door led to a much cleaner bathroom.

Misato plopped down on the couch and propped her feet up on the coffee table as she opened up another can of beer. Kaworu took a seat in a tall chair at the breakfast bar that separated the kitchen and living room, Shinji settling into the chair next to him.

“So,” Misato sighed after a large gulp of her drink. “What's up, kid?”

Kaworu looked to Shinji as if asking for permission to talk about him. When he received a small nod, he began to explain. “Shinji here doesn't have a place to stay. He's been sleeping in libraries and staying at McDonald's, so I wanted to let him live with me. The streets are no place for someone his age.”

Misato nodded and hummed in thought. “Shinji, how old are you?”

“Eighteen...”

“Hmm, ran away?” When Shinji nodded, she let out a small sigh. She leaned back into the couch, seeming to be deep in thought, before continuing. “A good adult would probably tell you to go home, but seeing as I'm not a good adult... Look, I don't know anything about what fucked up shit your family did to make you leave, so I won't tell you that you should go back.” Shinji relaxed slightly. “I will tell you this, though.” She took on a stern tone that made Shinji tense up again. “No wasting water or electricity, and if it gets hot, don't you dare touch the thermostat. Just open a window.” Shinji took a moment to process what she was insinuating, then smiled with relief.

She switched back to her carefree yet hospitable attitude as she continued, “I would say not to be too noisy, but I don't think I'll have to worry about that with you.” She gave him a wink and a warm smile, then nodded to Kaworu. “Make sure you take care of him, got it? Don't get him into trouble.”

“Roger,” he jested, smiling and raising his hand in a mock salute.

Shinji lit up, finally knowing that he had a real place to stay, and gave Misato a thankful grin. “Thank you so much, Misato!”

She waved her hand dismissively. “No problem, anything to keep the youth of today off the streets. Besides, you seem like a good kid, so you shouldn't cause me any problems.”

“I won't!”

Kaworu stood from his chair and began to move toward the door. “Thanks, Misato, see you later.” She mumbled out a “yeah” around the lip of the aluminum can as she switched the TV on. Shinji quickly nodded his head at her before following Kaworu back into the foyer, closing the door behind him.

“Now then,” Kaworu said as he continued to the stair well to the left, “let's go to our room, Shinji.”

_Our room... That's right, it's both of ours now, isn't it? This isn't just a short stay, is it? Did he intend for me to stay long term from the start? I don't think I mind too much, though... I'll have a place to live, and Kaworu and Misato are both nice..._

Shinji didn't realize he was spacing out until Kaworu stopped walking. “Third floor, that's us.” He opened the door and led his new roommate down the carpeted hallway, stopping in front of the door labeled 305. He pulled the keyring back out of his pocket and used the second key to unlock the room before swinging the door in and gesturing for Shinji to enter.

“After you!”

The room had a similar layout to Misato's, but was much cleaner. He entered straight into the small kitchen, then slipped his shoes off and continued past the breakfast bar and into the connected living room. Like Misato's, there was a couch and television, with a coffee table positioned in between. The entrance to a room was on the far wall toward the left, presumably the bedroom, and an open door to a bathroom was to the right of where Shinji stood. Yes, it was exactly like Misato's, but it felt different, and not just because of the lack of clutter.

“So?” Kaworu said from behind him, seated on top of the counter. “What do you think?”

Shinji took another glance around before answering. “Like Misato's, but... more you.”

Kaworu regarded him with warm eyes before laughing. “What kind of answer is that? Sounds just like you though.” He slipped out of his chair to stand in front of Shinji with his hand outstretched. “Welcome home, Shinji.”

Shinji looked at the hand in shock, then took a deep breath and cautiously extended his own to shake it slightly. He gave Kaworu a small smile and nodded.

“Thanks, Kaworu.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ehehe, sorry I took so long to update... Hopefully the next one will come more quickly!!  
> Also, sorry about any mistakes! I proofread it, but it's entirely possible that I missed something.


	3. Deep Conversation and Takeout

Since Kaworu only had one bed, Shinji made his home on the couch. The other had offered to swap multiple times, but Shinji was absolutely insistent that he take the couch. He already felt like he was imposing, and besides, it was a pretty comfortable couch. (Especially compared to a park bench.)

It was getting late in the evening, and Kaworu decided that he was absolutely famished.

“Hey, what do you want for dinner?”

Shinji sat up from the lying position he had assumed on the couch. “Well, I mean, you don't have to get me anything... I'm not really hungry.” As one would expect, his stomach decided to take this exact moment to speak up, causing Shinji to blush and stare at the floor.

“I think I'll just order some take out,” Kaworu laughed. “Lo mein sound good to you?” Shinji gave a curt nod, eyes still on the wooden flooring, and Kaworu retreated into his room to call in the order.

Shinji collapsed bad into the plush furniture with a sigh. He really needed to learn how to control his stomach... Was that even possible? Could you train your stomach not to growl when you didn't want it to? Maybe his dad knew.

Dad... Had he even noticed that his son was gone? Was he searching, calling the police, putting up fliers? Honestly, Shinji kind of doubted it. They hadn't had a real conversation in years. Even if his dad did somehow realize he was missing, he probably wouldn't do anything about it. He would just make up some bullshit philosophical-sounding excuse like, “The boy is old enough to go his own way now; I'm not going to stop him from following his own path,” then get back to his ridiculous work.

Kaworu reentering the room snapped Shinji out of his vacant state, and caused him to blink out of his staring contest with the ceiling fan. “The food should be here in about 30 minutes.” Shinji nodded his acknowledgment, then sat up so that Kaworu could take a seat at the other end of the couch.

After gracefully sitting down and propping one leg up on the other, he took the remote off the coffee table and turned the TV on to flip through the channels. Football, infomercial, children's cartoon, Lifetime movie, bake-off, commercial, right wing biased news station, commercial, whale documentary...

He stopped there. Shinji really wasn't sure why, but he wouldn't complain. He was being given a place to stay and food, so there was no way in hell he'd complain about the television choices. Whales were pretty cool anyway, so it was fine.

The English narrator's composed voice explaining the properties of baleen was about to lull Shinji to sleep when a rapid knocking startled him out of it. Kaworu stood with a happy call of, “Food's here!” and headed over to pay for the delivery. Shinji stood, but didn't move, unsure of where he was supposed to go to eat. He just shifted on his feet looking lost for a bit, until Kaworu returned and placed the plastic bag on the coffee table and sat between it and the couch, which Shinji imitated.

When he opened up his box of noodles, Shinji thought he was in Heaven. He also felt relief over the fact that he had learned to use chopsticks when he was younger, as they had come with the meal and he would just feel silly asking for a fork.

Honestly, the noodles probably weren't even very high quality. It was cheap delivery lo mein; not exactly gourmet. But for a boy who hadn't had a proper meal other than McDonald's in a few days, and the only thing he'd had readily available back home was instant ramen, cheap lo mein in a box could go a long way.

He finished off the meal in about five minutes, then glanced over to a chuckling Kaworu. “I knew you were hungry.” It was then that Shinji noted that the narrator was only just finishing up the lesson on dietary habits, and Kaworu was only about half of the way through his own box.

Shinji shifted nervously and set his empty takeout box and chopsticks down on the table. “Th-thanks for the meal...”

Kaworu seemed to sense the other's unease and gave him a comforting smile. “No problem, it was my pleasure. I'm glad you enjoyed it.”

“Yeah, I've only really eaten fast food and microwaveable stuff lately, so... this was nice...”

If Kaworu's curiosity was peaked by the statement, he didn't show it. Instead he finished off his own meal while watching the whale documentary with interest. How he could be so engrossed in the biology of whales was a mystery to Shinji, but he didn't tend to concentrate well on much of anything.

It was at that moment that Shinji realized that he didn't know much of anything about his new... friend? (Shinji wasn't exactly sure what level of companionship made friendship, but they _were_ living together.) He looked to be just a year older than Shinji, but really how could he know for sure? Why were his eyes red and hair white? Was he albino, or did he just wear colored contacts and bleach his hair? Shinji wouldn't judge if that were the case of course, he was just curious.

After a moment of bringing up his will to speak and carefully forming the sentence in his mind, he cleared his throat. “So, how... I mean, what do you...” Agh, even after planning out his words he couldn't talk.

Kaworu, who Shinji was now absolutely certain was some sort of mind reader, spoke instead. “Ah, you don't really know much about me, do you?” He thought for a moment before continuing. “Well, I'm originally from Maine. I moved here on a whim two and a half years ago when I turned 18, much like yourself. Now I attend New York University and work at a little cafe down the street. And yes, my hair and eyes are naturally like this.”

That was quick and painless. Shinji nodded, and suddenly felt a bit insecure for not having told much about himself. “Thanks... I'll return the favor later.” He just hoped that wasn't an empty promise. “So, um, a cafe?” (Yes, Shinji was bad at keeping conversations going, he was well aware.) “What do you do there?”

“I swap between manning the register and making the coffee, along with another girl. Then there are the two girls who handle the baking and constantly fight to make the best food, although it's kind of a one-sided battle.” Kaworu chuckled and smiled in exasperation at the thought of the kitchen antics.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door so light that Shinji almost didn't hear it. Kaworu stood and opened it to show a young and slightly sickly-looking girl with blue hair. ( _Really, what is it with weird hair around here?)_

“Speak of the devil,” Kaworu exclaimed warmly. “Rei, this is my roommate Shinji. I just mentioned you to him.”

The girl in question gave Shinji a blank and calculating stare, which he responded to with a nervous wave and wary smile. Rei then gave him a minuscule nod and turned to Kaworu to hand him an envelope.

“They gave me your mail again,” she explained with a quiet and controlled voice. With that, she nodded at Shinji again and retreated down the hall.

“Thanks!” Kaworu said to her back, and he closed the door gently. He turned to the still uncomfortable Shinji and rejoined him on the floor by the couch. “She's actually really nice, just very... soft spoken? Straightforward?”

_Both of those and more,_ Shinji thought to himself. He kind of hoped he wouldn't have alone time with her anytime soon.

“So does she go to school with you...?”

“Well, we both go to NYU, but we're in different programs, so I don't see her on campus much. She's studying mathematical science, I'm studying music; different ends of the spectrum.”

Shinji caught on the the music mention. “Music?”

“Yup,” he nodded. “I'm in the Steinhardt program. If all goes according to plan, I'll be a concert pianist by the time I graduate.”

Truth be told Shinji had never heard of Steinhardt, but it had a name that he wasn't sure he could spell, so it must have been impressive.

Kaworu leaned his head back on the couch and tilted his chin so he could glance at his companion. “Do you like music, Shinji?”

He hesitated. If he answered honestly, Shinji would be revealing the first thing other than his name and age. “Yeah, I do. I, um...” Ah, fuck it. “I played the cello up until a couple of years ago.”

This seemed to peak Kaworu's interest as his eyes and smile brightened. “Really? I've always liked the cello; such a nice mellow tone to balance out the violin and bass. The viola, too. Both so under-appreciated.” He paused. “If you don't mind me asking, why did you stop playing?”

Shinji looked down. How could he possibly explain the period in his life where he lost his ability to concentrate and enjoy his interests? The point where his favorite activity became lying in bed and listening to the same orchestral cassette on repeat? Rather than attempt to put his woes into words, he shrugged and began to place the remains of their meal back in the plastic bag.

“Where's the trashcan?”

“Ah, wait.” Kaworu leaned forward and reached back into the bag to pull out two fortune cookies. “We almost forgot the best part!” He handed Shinji one, then opened his own, cracking the hard cookie open to reveal the strip of paper inside.

“Hmm, _'Let those in your life accompany you in your journey toward fulfillment.'_ What does yours say?” He popped the cookie into his mouth while Shinji opened up his own and nervously pulled out his own fortune. (He knew they were manufactured in a factory with underpaid workers typing out inspirational phrases one after another, but he still took them somewhat seriously for some reason.) He held the slip out where he and Kaworu could both read it.

 

_“New acquaintances will save you. You are where you need to be.”_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S BEEN SO LONG JESUS.  
> I've been a bit preoccupied with original works and other interests (BTS is killing me help), but I decided to get back to this because I did not plan out this shit for nothing goddammit.  
> God I use so many ellipses in this fic. But Shinji is just so. Ellipses-y  
> Also I had to mention violas okay. So damn under-appreciated. Violists fuckin' REPRESENT.  
> As usual, please excuse and/or notify me of any typos that I missed in my many proofreads, and I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter!
> 
> (Oh and if the previous chapters' names change don't mind that, it's just me realizing that I was really bad at titles.)


End file.
